The genius behind “Mr. Burr, sir,” made his first late night appearance Monday night on the NBC talk show.  There has been chatter that the Carnegie Mellon graduate is a shoo-in for a Tony nomination for his fascinating portrayal of an “80-year-old white guy.”

One of the audience’s favorite numbers is Odom’s show-stopping, banjo-fueled, vaudeville-styled “The Room Where It Happens.”  When Meyers asked if this solo number was his favorite moment of the night, Odom simply replied, “God, no.”

“What’s your favorite moment,” Meyers countered.  “The end,” Odom responded casually.  “It’s such a  formidable task ahead of us each night doing this show.  Lin really laid down the gauntlet with this show. One of the things that’s so exciting about it is that it asks everything of you every single night and so that number… I never know if I’m gonna survive, if I’m gonna make it through. So when we reach the end, it’s a miracle.”

The musical about America’s Founding Fathers portrayed predominantly by a cast of color to the tune of hip hop and r&b is successfully breaking records across the board, leaving fans and critics wondering, why does it work?

“I think it’s because there’s a part of the audience that the whole time they’re kind of marveling at the fact that it works too,” Odom said with a chuckle.  “It’s something that shouldn’t work. The genius is in the incongruence.”

The sold out for YEARS Hamilton has already garnered dozens of celebrity visitors including Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey and President Obama.  (The night I was there I walked by Barbara Streisand *SQUEAL*).  A couple of Odom’s favorites?  Broadway royalty Joel Grey and Liza Minelli.

“Liza shows up in a cloud of medicinal marijuana smoke, which only makes her cooler in my book,” Odom quipped with a smirk.  “And I thanked her and Joel and she asks me ‘Well, have you ever seen me live?’ and I said ‘No’ and she said ‘Well then, you still have something to look forward to.’ …. GANGSTA!  Liza is straight GANGSTA!”

I saw the show last week and to say that Odom’s performance was brilliant is an understatement.  His approach is ingeniously subtle, and his skill is mesmerizing.  You may have to sell your first born, but get tickets to see his amazing performance in Hamilton as soon as you can!

The post Leslie Odom Jr. Visits Late Night with Seth Meyers appeared first on Broadway Black.

Some of us live life on the whim and some of us have every minute calculated. Wherever you fall on this spectrum, you’re in luck– there’s no throwing away your shot at seeing Hamilton when you’re able to book tickets through October 30, 2016. Yes, almost a whole year in advance! Gather up your family, hit your group texts and GroupMe, grab Bae, and collect your coins because we’re going to see Hamilton!

Hamilton is the highly acclaimed, hip hop-infused story about America’s first treasurer, Alexander Hamilton. Based on the biography of Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow, Lin-Manuel Miranda has penned what has come to be one of the most influential and talked about shows of our generation. President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Jay and Queen B, and Auntie Oprah have seen Hamilton. Join the ranks in experiencing this groundbreaking and history making work of art. 

Hamilton currently stars Lin-Manuel Miranda as Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler, Andrew Rannells as King George (Jonathan Groff will be back in the role after November 29) , Daveed Diggs as Marquis De Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson, Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton, Christopher Jackson as George Washington, Anthony Ramos as John Laurens and Phillip Hamilton, Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan and James Madison, and Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds.

In case Hamilton breaks the Internet, #NoKimKardashian, there’s no reason to fear, as you can keep trying your luck at the lottery. Stay thirsty, my friends! Who doesn’t love a little #Ham4Ham? 

The post Yes, There Are More Tickets For Hamilton On Sale Now! appeared first on Broadway Black.

It takes a real Queen to reduce a King to a quivering mass of shock and adulation. Beyoncé did just that when she approached Groff after the show to inquire about his phenomenally cocky royal walk during the scene where he bids a cheeky adieu to the colonies. Hamilton creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda chronicled the exchange on Twitter.

Groff got embarrassed. But he said I could tell you. Next three tweets.

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 28, 2015

https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/659355089056976896https://twitter.com/Lin_Manuel/status/659355357521817600

2) Beyonce: When you turned away still facing the audience?
*BEYONCE DEMONSTRATES FLAWLESSLY*
Beyonce: You were your OWN turntable. Love it.

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 28, 2015

3) And then, in Groffsauce's own words
"Then the ground swallowed me up and I died happy."
Thus endeth the meeting of Beyonce & Groffsauce.

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 28, 2015

There is no straight-male equivalent for the ecstasy of Beyonce telling you
"I love your walk."
ESPECIALLY for Groffsauce, walk enthusiast.

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 28, 2015

Bruce Lee: "Can you teach me that cool kick?"
That's the closest I can approximate to what happened to Groffsauce.

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 28, 2015

We can’t even blame Groff for being floored by the compliment. How many people can actually say Beyoncé is stealing your sashay? Checkout a clip of Groff channeling his inner diva as he and fellow Hamilton actors Brian d’Arcy James, and Andrew Rannells lip-synch during Hamilton’s daily “Ham 4 Ham”,  an innovative mini show that gives fans a chance to enter a ‘day of the show’ lottery where winners receive Hamilton tickets for $10 .

They say imitation is the most powerful compliment and the love didn’t begin with Beyonce’s endorsement of Groff’s saucy promenade. Lin-Manuel Miranda had previously cited the other half of the power couple, Hip Hop phenom Jay-Z as one of his influences for the sound and flavor of the genre blending musical. Said Miranda,

In crafting the battles, I listened a lot to the Jay Z–Nas beefs. “Takeover” is such a systematic takedown of Nas; it’s “Here’s how many albums you put out. One of them is good.” It’s so clinical that it’s kind of devastating. And Nas’s response to Jay Z was no less brutal or enthusiastic. I listened to those a lot when it came to the battle raps; taking each other down but in an intelligent way. And there’s a little ode to 8 Mile in the way those scenes are structured.

This is the way good art is built. By the open acknowledgement of the talent of another. Taking a bit of this and a splash of that and reworking it into an updated remixed masterpiece. It speaks volumes when egos can be set aside to simply say, “I am impressed by the work you do.” Congratulations on the compliment to Jonathan Groff. It was well deserved. Now all we need to see is how Beyoncé spins that walk into a slaying saunter that is sure to set the Beyhive abuzz.

BONUS: The Queen recently let her powers show towards an assistant during a red carpet walk. It was so smooth and direct you probably don’t even notice her telling her to “stop it!”. The assistant was making more of a fuss over Beyonce’e clothes than she was! Also, it makes us so happy to hear the photographer in the back use the proper terminology when referring to her. For she is a Queen.

The post Beyoncé Plans to Steal & #Werk Groff’s Hamilton Walk appeared first on Broadway Black.

Sonia Friedman Productions has acquired the rights to a full West End production of the musical and it is rumored that Casey Nicholaw (The Book of Mormon, Aladdin) will direct. The musical’s planning is still in the early stages and no venue has been mentioned, but it’s believed that it will go to London towards the end of 2016 or beginning of 2017. A London premiere in 2016, would mark the 35^th Anniversary of the musical.

Casting also hasn’t been announced, but open singer auditions were held in May for “black and mixed race performers with strong soul/pop voices for the lead roles of Effie White, Deena Jones, Lorrell Robinson, Curtis Taylor Jr., Jimmy Early and C.C. White.”

The musical, which features music by Henry Krieger and a book and lyrics by Tom Eyen, tells the story of a singing trio of black divas, “The Dreams,” and their rise to stardom in the 60’s. The trio is eventually torn apart by another predictable trio of fame, fortune, and men. The original Broadway production opened on December 20, 1981 and closed on August 11, 1985, after 1,521 performances. The cast starred Sheryl Lee Ralph as “Deena Jones,” Jennifer Holliday as “Effie White,” Loretta Devine as “Lorrell Robinson,” Ben Harney as “Curtis Taylor, Jr.,” Cleavant Derricks as “James “Thunder” Early,” and Obba Babatundé as “C. C. White.”

In addition to Beyoncé as “Deena” and Hudson as “Effie,” the 2006 hit movie had plenty of star power with Jamie Fox as “Curtis,” Eddie Murphy as “Jimmie,” Anika Noni Rose as “Lorrell,” and Danny Glover as “Marty.” Original Dreamgirl, Loretta Devine also made a cameo appearance as a jazz singer.

Sonia Friedman Productions is a West End and Broadway production company responsible for some of the most successful theatre productions in London and on Broadway over the past few years. Since 1990, the company has developed, initiated, and produced over 135 new productions, including Much Ado About Nothing, Jerusalem, The Book of Mormon, Legally Blonde the Musical, Betrayal, Arcadia, The Mountaintop, The Children’s Hour and All My Sons.

The post Dreamgirls May Debut In The West End For 35th Anniversary appeared first on Broadway Black.

Sources tell E! News that producers are also considering Uzo Aduba for the part. Emmy-nominated Aduba is an amazing vocalist and would be right at home on a Broadway-style sound stage. Before being cast as Crazy Eyes on Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black,” she was on Broadway, and starred in the revival of Godspell. She’s also classically trained if you didn’t know.

“The Wiz Live!” will premiere December 3 on NBC.

Two major cast members were announced this week with Mary J. Blige and Queen Latifah signing on to the production. Blige will play Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, while Latifah will be playing the infamous Wizard, a bold and creative choice. They will join the previously announced Stephanie Mills as Aunt Em.

Both performers are no strangers to musicals. Latifah was nominated for an Oscar in 2002 as Best Supporting Actress for her role in the movie,”Chicago,” and starred in the musical Hairspray in 2007. Blige is the winner of multiple Grammys and made an appearance in the film adaptation of the popular musical Rock of Ages.

Producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who worked with Latifah on Hairspray and Steel Magnolias, told Entertainment Weekly, “We are so happy reuniting with Latifah. We’ve been friends for a long time and we’ve had quite a lot of success together. To see her play the iconic role of the Wiz and make it her own is going to be one of the joys of producing this event.”

The Wiz is adapted from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. Subsequently, Baum’s book was adapted as a stage musical with a book by William F. Brown, and music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls. The adaptation, which featured an all-black cast, debuted in October, 1974 at the Morris Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore. Starring Stephanie Mills as Dorthoy. It moved to Broadway’s Majestic Theatre on January, 1975, where it ran for four years and won seven Tonys, including best musical.

The post ???: Beyonce & Uzo Aduba Up For Glinda The Good In The Wiz Live appeared first on Broadway Black.

According to Genius.com, producer The Dream wrote that he recorded an entire, unreleased album with Beyonce prior to 2011 LP 4. “We did a whole Fela album that didn’t go up,” Terius Nash (his real name) wrote in a lengthy annotation to the lyrics of “End Of Time.” “It was right before we did 4. We did a whole different sounding thing, about twenty songs,” he continued. “[Beyonce] said she wanted to do something that sounds like Fela. That’s why there’s so much of that sound in the ‘End of Time’.”

Beyonce’s connection to the music is more than just as a casual fan; her husband, Jay-Z, was one of the producers of the musical, and former member of Destiny’s Child, Michelle Williams, was Sandra Isadore in the national tour.

A bit of backstory; Fela! is a musical with a book by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, and is based on events in the life of groundbreaking Nigerian composer and activist Fela Anikulapo Kuti. It portrays Kuti in the days when he was the target of 1,000 government soldiers assigned to end his public performances at the legendary Lagos nightclub The Shrine.

In Fela!, according to producers, “audiences are welcomed into the extravagant, decadent and rebellious world of Afrobeat legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Using his pioneering music (a blend of jazz, funk and African rhythm and harmonies), and explores Kuti’s controversial life as artist, political activist and revolutionary musician.”

The Broadway production received eleven 2010 Tony Award nominations and won Best Choreography, Best Costume Design of a Musical, and Best Sound Design of a Musical.

Watch a part of FELA! below. Also check out Beyonce’s Grown Woman video to see how some of the influences spilled over into the album that came after 4.

The post In The Vault: Beyonce’s FELA! Inspired Album appeared first on Broadway Black.

When NBC made the announcement at the end of March that its next live musical would be The Wiz the internet went into a tizzy! Immediately theatre lovers begin pitching their dream casts! Theatre names like Anika Noni Rose, Nikki M. James , Tituss Burgess, and Condola Rashad were tossed about and mainstream names like Chris Brown, Usher, Janelle Monae, and Beyonce were also thrown into the mix. There was a great concern from many theatre buffs that NBC would cast “known” names to draw in viewers instead of casting actors and actresses more familiar with the stage. To this director Kenny Leon responded with great confidence that commercial casting would not take place. “We will tell the story with the best, available cast..no tricks- no worries!”, stated the Tony Award winner. Keke Palmer, if casted, would bring both audiences; theatre and popular culture fans.

The Wiz– based on L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz- made its Broadway debut in 1975. The musical went on to win the Tony Award for Best Musical and Best Original Score among other recognitions. The cast included the talents of Stephanie Mills, Ted Ross, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Mabel King. The film adaptation was released in October 1978 and included an equally impressive cast- Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Lena Horne, Nipsey Russell, Ted Ross and Richard Pryor. There has not been a Broadway revival of the classic since that time so it’s no wonder everyone is over the moon with excitement! We certainly can’t wait!

Make sure you continue to follow Broadway Black for all of the updates on everything The Wiz!

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